


The Politics of Amazons

by EntameWitchLulu



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Royalty, F/M, Political Alliances, Political Marriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2018-11-30
Packaged: 2019-08-20 00:16:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16545101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EntameWitchLulu/pseuds/EntameWitchLulu
Summary: With King Leo of the kingdom of Avalon on his deathbed, and his eldest daughter Ray struggling to prepare for her coronation to a kingdom plagued with aggression from all sides the previous king encouraged, Reiji decides the only way to help his sister solidify her rule is to make an advantageous political alliance.Unfortunately, the only viable option seems to be Gloria Tyler, the Queen of the Amazons.  And in order to get her on board with the idea, Reiji is going to have convince her that he's worth her time.





	The Politics of Amazons

**Author's Note:**

  * For [colorfulwatcher](https://archiveofourown.org/users/colorfulwatcher/gifts).



“You did  _ what??” _

Ray gapes at him.  Reiji presses his lips together, folding his hands onto his lap.  She’s waiting for an answer to her question, but he’s already told her what he’s done, so he has nothing more to say.

Ray finally stands up and begins to pace.  Her dress snaps with her agitation, the clank of her armored skirt plates sliding against each other.

“I cannot believe you!  You didn’t even  _ talk _ to me!  Didn’t you think that I should be a part of — of something like this??  And going behind father’s back when he’s on his  _ deathbed _ —”

“You and I both know that father would not approve,” Reiji says.  “And I knew that you would react this way, thus why I did not tell you until I had confirmation of the next phase.”

Ray throws her hands in the air, eyes wide.  The heavy circlet on her forehead slips a bit and she gives out a strangled sound before ripping it off and tossing it to the plush floor.  Reiji has always hated this sitting room — it’s so ostentatious, so covered in gold and marble and unnecessary grand-standing. But it’s the only one where he can be certain they won’t be overheard since there aren’t any rooms on the other sides of the walls for people to hide in or drill holes through to listen in. Especially with Tsukikage standing outside the door to watch for anyone coming near, they are the most private they could possibly be in the palace.

And he needs privacy for when he admits to his sister that he’s just put tentative plans in place for a political marriage between himself and the queen of the Amazons.

Ray makes another strangled sound, digging her hands into her pigtails.  Then she inhales sharply, and lets it out.

“Okay.  Fine. I understand — telling father would have been a terrible idea.”

“His policies have caused unnecessary aggression with our neighbors, and he shows no sign of repentance for it, or a willingness to make amends,” Reiji says, reaching for the small glass of wine on the table beside him, taking a short sip.  “You know this is a good move, sister.”

Ray tugs at her pigtails, groaning.

“I do,” she says, finally flopping back into her seat.  “But why didn’t you  _ talk  _ to me about it?”

“Because you would have rejected the possibility outright.”

Ray lets her head sag backwards.

“You’re right,” she grumbles.  “Again.”

Reiji pushes his glasses up on his nose.

“I often am.”

“Oh, shut up.”

Ray digs her fingers into the sides of her arm chair, starting to pick at one of the loose threads.

“How far have you gotten?” she asks quietly.

“I’ve been in contact with the queen’s sister, the junior queen.  She seems excited by the idea and has promised to arrange a meeting between the two of us on neutral ground.”

Ray leans her head back up, lips pressed tightly together.  Then she sits up, sighs, and straightens her shoulders, laying her hands in her lap.  All at once, all of her consternation is gone, and she is sitting up tall and proud, radiating a royal energy.  All at once, she’s transformed from his awkward sister into the future queen she was always meant to become.

“You know how the Amazons work, don’t you?” she says, eyes hard and flinty as she meets Reiji’s eyes.  “You might have a meeting with her, but that’s only the first step. You have to impress her to get anywhere with her.  And no offense, Reiji but...”

Ray’s eyes flick up and down Reiji’s frame, and Reiji shoot her a glare.

“You’re not exactly Amazon material,” she says.

“I understand what I am getting myself into, Ray.  This is for the good of the nation. If we can secure a political alliance with the Amazons, that will be more than enough to stabilize our position against the other kingdoms — as well as that...Zarc.”

He frowns, not particularly enjoying to think about how powerful a rogue leader of a group of bandits has become in recent years.  Ray chews on her lip, releasing her kingly aura again.

“I know,” she says.  “And they are our best bet.  None of the other kingdoms have anyone to marry off for an alliance at the moment.  And they’ll respect anyone who can be on even terms with them, rather than being politically motivated so...”

She sighs, dropping her head into her hands.  For a moment, they just sit there for a moment.

“I wanted you to be here when father died,” she mumbles.  “I need you here.”

Reiji rises from his chair, walking over to his sister and crouching before her.  He lightly lays one hand on her shoulder.

“Ray,” he says.  “You were always the heir.  And I trust that you will lead this kingdom into a new era of peace and prosperity.  You don’t need me as much as you think you do. You will do as you can, and I will do what I can.  It’s how it was always intended to be.”

Ray stiffens briefly, and then relaxes.  She lets out a huge sigh.

“You’d better impress her,” she says.  “Make this work, Reiji.”

Reiji nods.  They have one chance to stabilize their kingdom against the forces that would rip them apart.  He will not fail his people.

* * *

“ _ That’s _ him?” Gloria says, wrinkling her nose.  “He’s built like a  _ stick _ .”

“Give him a chance, Glory!” Grace says, stroking the neck of Gloria’s stallion.  “After all, he went out of his way to ask for a meeting with you. That’s more than most try, isn’t it?”

Gloria snorts.  Most who want something from her try to take it — and she takes their heads from their bodies as payment.  It is true that it’s out of the ordinary for other kingdoms to attempt to reach out to them, and Gloria can respect this prince’s guts for that.

But that he has the gall to ask to  _ marry _ her...he must be stupid.  Brave, but stupid.

She can see him from across the field, seated atop his own horse.  He has a nice horse, at least — a pretty, solid gray mare with a dark mane.  If he chose the horse himself, then perhaps he has some positive qualities. His small retinue stands warily behind him, looking woefully armed.  Her own forces keep their weapons concealed, not that the necessarily need them in the first place.

But damn, he’s  _ skinny _ .  Even from this distance, he looks like he could be broken in half with just her pinky.  And he wants to marry  _ her _ ?  What a joke.

“Come on, Glory,” Grace says, hugging Gloria’s stallion and giving her a pouty face from underneath the horse.  “It took me a lot of work to put this meeting together! Please promise me you won’t kill him, at least. I don’t want to do all of the war paperwork again.  It’s  _ boring _ .”

Gloria rolls her eyes, but she sighs.  It’s true that the Amazons are beginning to chafe with their small borders, as the other kingdoms crush in on them and their own raids can only do so much.  They’re running out of resources — but the Kingdom of Avalon has plenty to go around, and their magicians are highly prized. A political alliance with them could be beneficial...

But why did he have to be so damn  _ skinny? _

She shakes her head and huffs.  Finally, she sees the flag raise up from the other party, as her own retinue lifts her flag.  They are officially at parlay. She swings herself off of her horse and lands on the ground. Grace reaches for her and squeezes her shoulder.

“Maybe he’ll surprise you, Glory,” she says.

“I doubt it,” Gloria snorts.

Prince Reiji Akaba dismounts his own steed, and as one, they both begin walking towards each other.

She reaches the middle first, and when he stops in front of her, she gives him another once over.  He is even skinner up close, with bony arms and legs even through his neat clothing. His hair is perfectly slicked back, and he wears  _ glasses _ .  He’s a walking wartime liability.  He’s almost her height though, which is something.

Gloria folds her arms, looking down at him over her nose.

“So,” she says.  “Prince Reiji Akaba?”

Reiji bows to her.

“Queen Gloria Tyler,” he says, rising back up.  “It is good to finally meet you in person.”

Gloria snorts.  God. He’s so polite and proper, it makes her want to break his nose.

“So I hear you want us to form an alliance,” she says, making a show of looking him over again. 

“That is in fact, my aim.  I have brought a sample contract for you to examine.”

He makes to pull a scroll from his belt, but she waves a hand at him.

“I’m not here to look at your paperwork or your terms and conditions,” she says.  “I’m here to decide if that hassle is worth my time.”

She cocks an eyebrow at him so that he knows that so far, she doesn’t think so.

To her surprise, he doesn’t appear nervous or taken aback by her abruptness.  He merely nods, and slides the scroll back into his tube.

“I suspected as much.  I speculated that the normal Avalon courtship methods would not be amenable to you.”

Gloria raises both eyebrows now, cracking an incredulous smirk.

“You’re not helping your case,” she says.  “You’re talking like a bureaucrat.”

Reiji tilts his head at her, raising his own eyebrow.

“Forgive me for my boldness, Your Majesty, but I think a bureaucrat may be exactly what you need.”

Gloria straightens up to put more height on him, staring him down and waiting for him to crack.  They always do, eventually. They always fear her in the end.

But Reiji doesn’t respond to her intimidation.  He only meets her eyes with a full attention — and a surprisingly steely determination.  Hm. Maybe he’d end up being more interesting after all.

“Explain,” she says.

Reiji fixes his glasses — stupid, useless scholar glasses.  She wants to grab them and snap them in half, see how he likes it then.

“As the advisor to the King of Avalon, and his heir, the future King, I have kept close tabs on my neighboring kingdoms.  I know much of your kingdom, and much of those you deem enemies. I can help you deal with them.”

“You’re not making your case sound sweet to me.  We can handle our enemies on our own.”

“And you will continue to lose more and more of your people,” Reiji says bluntly.  “Until there are few left.”

Gloria feels anger crackle through her.  She steps towards him, but holds herself back from grabbing him by his cape and strangling him with it.

“If this is supposed to be something about telling me how to run my country, then —”

“Your Majesty, I have no intentions of doing that.  Only to supplement your knowledge with mine, and vice versa.”

“You have three seconds,” Gloria said.  “Before I wring your neck.”

“War is something that Avalon is not skilled at, despite our magical prowess.  It  _ is _ something that your people are skilled at — however, the battlefield is changing, quickly, Your Majesty.  I have kept close tabs on the way it has changed. Most battles are now won in the realm of...secrecy.”

He tilts his head at her again, and for a moment, she’s struck with just how calm he is.  Here she is, looming over him, threatening him harm...and he is the first person who has not flinched even once to be in her presence.

“If war becomes a necessity for your people, I know exactly where to strike your enemy,” he says.  “I know what targets to strike. What people who want to fight against their own empires. Or, even easier, how to convince an enemy to surrender before a blow is even struck.  Why dispatch an enemy with three blows when you can slice off the head with one?”

Gloria’s lips slowly press together.  She rubs her chin, considering him.

There is absolutely a dark spark of intelligence in his eyes that she has never seen in anyone before.  It...intrigues her.

“You need us more than we need you,” Gloria says.  “Avalon will fall long before the Amazons do.”

“And when it does, your kingdom will be open to attack from all sides at once,” Reiji says.  “We both need each other, Your Majesty. I think you are intelligent enough to realize that.”

Avalon’s magic can bolster her people’s failing crops.  And if Reiji is as good as he says he is...the wars they do have to fight can be honed to a brutal efficiency.

She scowls inwardly.  She’s being won over. She doesn’t like that.

“Just last thing,” she says.

And she draws her dagger from her hip and presses it to his throat.

He doesn’t flinch — he doesn’t move except to throw one hand up to stop his retinue from charging forward.  His eyes do not drop hers.

Gloria holds the dagger to his throat for a long moment, considering him.  She waits to see it — the crack in his composure. He watches her steadily back.

“What’s keeping me from simply taking you prisoner and forcing your country to do as I please?” she says.  “Or killing you, and simply taking Avalon for myself?”

Reiji blinks at her.  His lips press together.

“I think you’ll find me a more hardy opponent than that.”

His voice doesn’t even crack.  There’s no way he can take her on in a fight — even if he is a magician, as she suspects, she’s killed magicians before.  But his tone makes her think that he  _ could  _ hold his own.  And maybe he can.  Maybe she’s underestimating him.

For some reason, that makes her blood boil with excitement, the kind of thrill she only gets before a good fight.  Talking to this prince feels like a war.

She holds the knife to his throat for a moment longer.

Dammit.  She can’t help it.  She’s starting to like him. 

She takes the knife away, tucking it back into her belt.  Reiji lets his hand back down, and his retinue reluctantly settles.  Reiji fixes his glasses, still holding her gaze. She cracks a smile at him.

“I hope you’re not expecting this to turn into a romance,” she says, holding her hand out to him.  “I have no interest in...your type.”

Reiji shakes his head, taking her hand and gripping it with a surprising — and welcomed — firmness.

“I expect only that our union might bring our kingdoms prosperity,” he says.

She throws her head back and laughs, holding his hand so tightly until he finally winces.  Finally. She’s gotten a reaction. But it doesn’t seem like an objectionable weakness this time.  She releases him and smirks.

“I think we have ourselves an arrangement in the works,” she says.  “I’ll have Grace contact your people again. We’ll do that paperwork shit to make it official.”

Reiji inclines his head with a slight smile.

“I look forward to it, Your Majesty.”

Gloria only puts a fist to her chest in a farewell, and he bows to her.  They both turn at once and walk back to their retinues.

Grace clings to Gloria’s stallion’s reins, eyes wide as she bounces from foot to foot.

“Well?  Well?? Are we planning a wedding, or a funeral?”

Gloria rolls her eyes and swings herself back into her saddle.

“We’ll be making arrangements,” she says.  

Grace lets out a squeal and claps her hands, jumping up and down.

“I knew it!! I knew you’d like him!”

Gloria rolls her eyes again, scowling. She snaps her horse’s reins, and spins her stallion around, motioning for her retinue to move out.

“He’s still a twig,” she says.  


End file.
